The easiest garlic chicken linguine recipe ever

November 27, 2019 6:21 PM

Could somebody help me find, or just tell me, a VERY simple recipe involving linguine, chicken, and garlic, in the fewest number of pots & pans? I've looked at dozens of recipes and they all seem way overly complicated. I don't want to wing it because last time I did that it came out bad.

Other ingredients I'm OK with are parmesan cheese, olive oil, ginger, salt & pepper, but I don't have anything else like lemon, lemon zest, etc. (Although I could get some for next time). We can't eat tomatoes.
Thank you!

posted by bleep to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Something like this. Sautee the mushrooms first. Clean, cut, season, and cook over medium-low with light olive oil or similar. You can skip the lemon without missing out too much. Mince the garlic and add it and the parmesan to the breading.
posted by feloniousmonk at 6:41 PM on November 27, 2019

Best answer: Two pans. Here you go:

Put on a pot of linguine.

Slice the chicken into bite size pieces. Heat oil in a large pan. Chop garlic. Place garlic and chicken in pan, sprinkle with pepper, and cook over a low to medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add drained linguine to pan and toss with additional olive oil. Serve into two bowls or plates and top with Parmesan cheese. Add salt if needed.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:43 PM on November 27, 2019 [14 favorites]

I would make DarlingBri's recipe with the additions:
Fry a chopped onion before you add the garlic and chicken.
Once the chicken is cooked, pour in some cream (in the UK I'd use "double cream" - this is "heavy cream" in the US I think?) and some chopped fresh tarragon and heat through.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:34 AM on November 28, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'd do darlingBri's method but add the garlic in two portions to get both the cooked out garlic taste and the fresher more bitier garlic taste. Essentially add in the garlic in two different additions once just after you've added the chicken and again about one minute before it is ready to eat. Also be sure to add in a bit of the pasta water to the chicken/garlic mix to make a bit of a sauce.
posted by koolkat at 2:24 AM on November 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm glad the recipe is of use. It's a base recipe -- if what you have is garlic and chicken, grand but you can add whatever to it. Onions in with the garlic are always a winner. We sometimes slice mushrooms and cook them with the chicken. You can add pesto when you mix it all up. You can add frozen or fresh spinach to the chicken stage. You can toast pine nuts to throw in at the end (or don't toast them, throw them in with the chicken, that works too.) Chopped asparagus would be nice. Samphire might be OK? Frozen or fresh broccoli florets are AMAZING! Chopped zucchini, cherry tomatoes, whatever!

None of that takes more pots or pans, so it's all good.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:41 PM on November 28, 2019 [3 favorites]